Friday, September 25, 2015

Due to various reasons, the most crucial being our sinking Canadian dollar, and the fact that we had had such a ball last year, we decided to again jump into "Trixie" and experience another road trip.

Every year in late August we find ourselves in Winnipeg to visit Bee's family, so why not take this opportunity and drive there, we thought?

We could take our time, experience the delights of Northern Ontario, enjoy a pre dawn ride on the Chi-Cheemaun ferry and take advantage of the glorious early fall weather.

After Winnipeg, cross the border to Minneapolis, see some friends then make our way to our final destination of Chicago.

Chicago! What can be said that has not already been said?...it truly is an amazing city!
A city filled with so many "city proud" Chicagoans, willing and able to show off their city and its amazing architecture, most if not all on a volunteer basis! What's not to love?

Chicago has always been a mecca for retail. Many retail giants over the years have started new concepts here test driving their new ideas, so needless to say Chicago remains a shoppers paradise.
Like our home town Toronto, Chicago is also a city of vibrant neighborhoods. Our base would be BuckTown and Wicker Park, two of Chicago's creative epicenters, famous for unparalleled boutique shopping, esoteric book stores and countless art galleries....how could we go wrong?!

On one of our many walks back to our AirB&B flat, strolling along Damen Street, having picked up a few provisions at the lovely Olivia's,

What's not to love about a great T-shirt? Inexpensive. Easy to pack, for yourself or as a thank-you for that great friend who was willing to look after your plants while you were away.

The T-shirt Deli did not disappoint. What a fun and original concept!

Opened in November of 2003, with the idea of offering Chicagoans something different than your run of the mill T-shirt printing store, they hit on the "deli" theme. You enter to find a gleaming white deli case filled with an assortment of brightly colored T's.

Behind the counter are rolls of waxed butcher paper, brightly coloured stickers all used to wrap your purchase. Smiles widened at the true originality of this great shop, accompanied by the great service.

Soon after its opening, The T-Shirt Deli was picked as a "best
one of a kind shop" by Frommer's Guide to Chicago and we couldn't agree more. They now offer on-line retailing and there are plans in the works for some expansion. We wish them the best!

...we decided to go to the Logan Square neighborhood. We had read that the cheap eats, bike-friendly streets, gourmet coffee, scruffy dive bars
and artisanal cocktail lounges made the perfect recipe for a thriving hipster scene and Logan Square did not disappoint on any fronts. This Northwest neighborhood is still very much grounded in it's working class sensibility... and besides who's afraid of a few hipsters?! After a great and very satisfying pizza and beer lunch off we went to explore a bit of this vibrant neighborhood.

A personal highlight was Meyvn. Owned by Noah Zagor and his partners Ryan Bardsley and Tony Kim, Meyvn opened their excellently curated store in 2014, offering a wide range of unique European and Japanese men's wear brands.

Alex Maier

Alex Maier

Labels recently featured in the July issue of GQ,were such stand outs as A Kind of Guise (AKOG), a small brand from Munich whose garments offer unique details and expert craftsmanship; Eyevan 7285, a Japanese eyewear brand- light and ever so stylish with a cool retro vibe; Feit Bio Trainers; and Oniki 4B a Japanese label by Tomorrowland. Match these awesome and unique brands with Meyvn's amazing service and your "Bobos" could have done some serious credit card damage here. We hesitated, though, and later regretted the missed opportunity but no worries, Jay contacted them when we returned and is now anxiously awaiting the delivery of his purchase of an antique Japanese Boro fabric piece! Meyvn hits it out of the "Style Ballpark"and is a definite must stop for any guy serious about fashion.

Check out the great GQ review from July on this unique men's store.
So, Chicago really has it all for these two "Bobos", awesome architecture, great design, wonderful food, and an inventive and vibrant retail scene that can't be matched....and everybody is so nice! We will be back just as soon as our "loonie" fattens up a bit!

Thursday, August 13, 2015

This fascinating article, which is inspired by what the writer found to be a fascinating podcast (linked inside the article), posits that in ancient times there was no such thing as the colour blue.

Although the atmosphere overhead has always existed in the same format as we know it, there was no collective definition of the colour therefore nobody technically could perceive that the sky was/is blue. (At least not in a way that allowed them to differentiate it substantively from other colours)

We've always been intrigued by the way in which human perception is moulded by our ability- or propensity- to describe an experience, and this is a classic example. Did the ancients never marvel at the exquisite tones of a Mediterranian azure (Well, according to the piece they compared it to wine!), or attempt to describe the hues of a glacial crevice? (This must have fallen into one of the ways they described icy white).

Let's not split (fashionably blue) hairs on whether reality is in the describing; since we can now appreciate it let's just take a moment to appreciate a few recent blue Toronto moments!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

It's probably a safe bet that most folks in Toronto have tried a Portuguese custard tart at some point in their lives, and for the most part they're pretty darn good. What's not to like about a sweet custard filling swaddled in a tender pastry embrace? Well, since you asked, let's be honest: sometimes the custard is a little cloying and the crust...well, not so crusty. There can be a tendency to over- shorten (or over- age!) the pastry, and who wants to exercise their jawbone on a what's supposed to be a flaky treat?

OK, thanks for putting up with that!

And thanks for indulging us as we share with you that we have recently traveled (on your behalf, of course!) to the Mecca of Portuguese custard tarts, the home in Belem of the famous *pasteis*.

The place is a mad house...In one door if you want table service, in another if you just want counter service. Place your order, hand over your euros and move to the next line. Hand over your receipt, receive your order, and find a place to stand at the counter while you try to savour both the experience and the pastries before feeling obliged to relinquish your space to the Japanese lady hovering behind you.

But BAM, these babies give you a smack up the side of the head that'll make you forget that there's anyone else in the place! Custard that tastes more of egg than sugar, and a crust that makes you swoon (and makes a mess of everything below your chin) Nirvana!

Enough chatter! Here are a few images of our research (including a couple of discreet shots of what lay below the counter). On our return we promise to sample some of the elixirs stashed in the cubbies of the historic walls.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Recently a certain expensive tie brand has come to the attention of the
blaggerocracy offering the novelty of new ties made out of vintage tie
fabrics Unfortunately, the vintage tie patterns involved appear to be
the ones we would have flipped through and left hanging in our fathers’
closets years ago. I can understand that in classic clothing, the old
has a cachet that can’t easily be explained rationally. Things made in
the old manner, such as with ancient madder dyeing or hand block
printing, or with old-style materials, like Geelong lambswool, strike a
chord with those of us who still half-believe in some lost Arcadia of
quality. However,
rather than pay a top-drawer new tie price for the supposed glories of
the old, I suggest investing, judiciously, in the pleasures of vintage.